Legends of Opera

Brigitte Fassbaender

She joined the Bavarian State Opera in 1961 where her first roles included Nicklausse in Tales of Hoffmann. In 1967 she first sang one of her signature roles, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier in Munich. It launched her international career and in 1971 she sang it at the Royal Opera in Covent Garden. She also made her Met debut in that role in 1974.

Ms Fassbaender has performed many times on the concert stage and embraced lieder and taught master classes. In recent times she has held many directorial positions and in recent times has received many prestigious awards including the Musikpreis der Landershauptstadt Munchen in 2006 – and in 2011 The French Government appointed her an honorary Chevalier of the Legion d’ Honneur.